About the Legislative Report Card

Family Council Action Committee selected votes on key legislation in the Arkansas House and Arkansas Senate based on our core belief in promoting, protecting, and strengthening traditional family values. These bills were chosen because they address issues conservative Arkansans care about, including abortion; marriage and family; marijuana; education; and others. Lawmakers’ grades are based on 25 bills that came before the Arkansas House and Senate. Some bills were voted on by one chamber only, while others were voted on in both the House and Senate. Bills that never passed a legislative committee vote are not included.

How we figured the grades. We established a 100-point grading scale. We arrived at each lawmaker’s percentage grade by dividing each lawmaker’s number of good votes cast by the number of bills he or she voted on. Not all lawmakers voted on every bill. To receive a grade, lawmakers had to vote on at least 15 of the 25 bills in the report card; otherwise they received a grade of “incomplete.” Based on their percentage grade, lawmakers earned a letter grade as follows:

Letter From the President

Dear Friends,

I am pleased to share this report card for the 2017 Arkansas General Assembly. Here is a snapshot of how lawmakers voted on key social, moral, or economic legislation related to the right to life, education, family, marijuana, marriage, and other issues. Guided by our mission of promoting, protecting, and strengthening traditional family values, I focused heavily on 25 bills in the Arkansas House and Senate during the 2017 legislative session. All of those bills are included in this report card. Lawmakers earned letter grades ranging from A–F based on how they voted on all the bills. This report card is not an endorsement of any candidate or political party. It does not measure any lawmakers’ integrity, commitment to their faith, work ethic, or rapport with Family Council Action Committee. It is only a report on how each lawmaker voted.

One of the most common questions people ask me is, “How did my legislator vote?” This report card should help you answer that question.